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Halav
Appearance A well-muscled red-haired human warrior with a golden crown, wearing a bronze cuirass and wielding a shortsword. History Halav was a wise and brave Traldar King beloved and respected by his subjects when the gnolls escaping from Nithia invaded the Traldar lands (current Karameikos) in BC 1000, bringing with them only death and destruction. Halav protected Lavv (his city-state) with all his strengths and cunning, and thanks to Petra's (Queen of Krakatos and later Halav's lover) and Zirchev's (a powerful archmage and druid) help he was able to rally most of the Traldar monarchs into a league that prevented the beastmen (gnolls) to wipe out the entire Traldar civilisation. The gnolls' advance was stopped halfway near Lavv, and in the last desperate attempt to disband the invaders' troops, the three heroes stood against the gnollish army leading a warband made up by all the able-bodied Traldars left. In the final one-to-one battle between the Gnoll Warchief and Halav, the brave king killed the enemy after a duel that lasted one day, and then fell mortally wounded. The surviving gnolls disbanded and headed back northwards, leaving a trail of dead bodies and sacked cities in their path. The Traldar Kingdoms were finally free, but half of the land laid in ruins and the valiant Halav was dead. After great mourning and funeral ceremonies, Petra and Zirchev secretly spirited away Halav's corpse and the Queen raised him. Swearing an oath of eternal friendship to his comrades, Halav left his homeland determined to thank the Immortals for restoring his life by carrying out a quest to destroy the beastmen wherever they hid. Halav traced the gnolls' path back to the Nithian border, and after destroying a few tribes, he headed northwards, travelling through the current Orclands and later Soderfjord, learning new fighting techniques and embarking on the Path of the Epic Hero under the sponsorship of Odin. He finally was able to complete it when he reached the Isle of Dawn, where he retrieved the fabled sword Caledfwylch, an artifact of Thought. Wielding it as the legendary hero-king foretold by the seer Dallbard, he united the people of Redstone and future Kendach and helped them to repel the Fomorians (humanoids) who had oppressed them in the last decades. He later sired Kendach, founder of the homonymous dominion, and after training him as his successor, he completed the path of the Epic Hero and ascended in the Sphere of Thought during the second half of the X century BC, where he later welcomed his friends Petra and Zirchev. He currently protects the Traladarans of Karameikos and the inhabitants of the City-states of the Gulf of Hule (descendants of the Traldars) and has a special interest in the Traldar Kingdoms. Halav is also worshipped as Redhair by the people of Kendach, by the Northmen as Vidar (one of the Aesirs) and by the Merry Pirates as Halav. Personality Halav is a fierce enemy of all immortal patrons of humanoids, with the exception of Karaash, whom he respects greatly for his tactical skills and honour on the battlefield. Artifacts The Sword of King Halav It looks like a common bronze sword with a red handle, but it is a sword - -3, +10 against humanoids. Though it is -3 to hit against normal foes, it is not cursed: it is made of bronze and it is not well forged and so it is really difficult to handle. However against humanoids it becomes a powerful sword +10! Special powers * Victory: as a Rod of Victory * Rulership: as a Rod of Ruling * Weapon damage bonus against gnolls: it triplicates the damage done to gnolls * Knowledge of weaponsmithing: the owner of the sword can forge any bronze item Penalties * Body part change: The user's hair becomes slowly red. * The user must always fight with this sword, even if the enemy isn't an humanoid. * If the user is fighting with a gnoll, he can't flee. Location It is buried in the Tomb of King Halav, which can be found somewhere in the catacombs of Lavv, under Kelvin. Sergyev, the Patriarch of the Cult of Halav, is searching for the Tomb of King Halav, looking for his Sword. For this reason he might be interested in adventurers willing to explore the depths under Kelvin. The Armor of King Halav Originally it was a common bronze armour, forged by Halav himself. When he became an Immortal, he made of it a lesser artifact. Special powers * Armour Class bonus +5 Dodge normal missiles * Protection from some creatures (humanoids type/reduce damage by 1/2) Penalties * Obsession: The user's mind becomes fixed upon religion. Location Sergyev has recovered the Armour of King Halav in 987 AC, when he was a devout member of the Church of Traldara. Wearing the artifact, he activated the penalty and became obsessed by King Halav and Duke Stefan. For this reason he left the Church of Traldara to create the Cult of King Halav. Sergyev is very jealous of the Armour of King Halav and he keeps it safely hidden in his quarters. He is obsessed by the idea that someone is trying to steal his own relic.